Building Friendships and Community through Culinary Adventures
Austin Wine and Food Fest Part 1
Morimoto makes me dream of sushi.
It took me awhile but I think I am finally recovered from the bacchanalia that came to Austin at the end of April. The inaugural Austin Wine and Food Fest had a few logistical issues like high winds that led to a film of dust that covered everyone and everything and timing for the demos could have been better. But for the most part, it was a success. I was proud to play a role at the fest as the lead in charge of volunteer checkin. I also serve with the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance as Volunteer Coordinator which led to the opportunity. So I spent a good portion of the actual fest at Auditorium Shores working instead of drinking and eating as much as I would have liked to. Fortunately, there were several periphery events before that I was able to enjoy. Plus it was fun to have a behind the scenes view of the first year. It will be interesting to see how they adjust going forward.
Now for my food porn. First up was the fantastic dinner that Columbus Salame sponsored at the Carillon. Columbus is an artisan salame maker out of San Francisco that makes truly stellar handcrafted meats. Each of the courses included some of their product. As always, Josh Watkins and Plinio Sandalio gave me mouthgasms with their delicious dishes. You can find Columbus locally at Central Market and Antonelli’s.
I <3 salame!Pre dinner tastingMache * Watermelon * Secchi * Minus 8 SyrupSeared Diver Scallop * Fresno * Basil * Granny Smith * CresponeHawaiian Blue Prawns * Finocchiona * Charred Tomato * Corn Butter * CilantroSmoked Bandera Quail * Cacciatore * Morels * Texas VinegarPork Belly * Felino * Artichokes * Brown Butter * Preserved Meyer LemonAlmond Cake * Fennel butter * Hot Sopressata Caramel * Fennel Chips * Hot Sopressata Brittle * Olive Oil Ice Cream
Stay tuned for Part 2. Dessert dinner, Live Fire meat and pie, secret dessert party, and more Morimoto.
My name is Christy and I was born, raised, and still live in Austin, TX. I love to travel. I have been all over the US, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, etc. My second favorite place in the world is Negril, Jamaica where I have been 10 times and counting. I am a trained pastry chef but I am not currently working in "the industry" right now. I became a pastry chef in part to complement the fabulous dinners conjured up by my best friends Ethan and Michelle, who hopefully will be contributing to this blog as well. We went through a 2 year period of "Tuesday Night" dinner parties which were a smorgasbord of bloody meat and red, red wine. Friendships and laughter. The men did all the cooking while the women got tipsy, as all dinner parties should be. If I wanted to participate with food, I had to bring something and I became Dessert Girl. Eventually I attended the Le Cordon Bleu program at the Texas Culinary Academy and received a certificate in Pastry and Baking. I have had several baking jobs but found it hard to make ends meet, so I earn my living elsewhere for now. I have had the pleasure of working with several celebrity chefs including Rebecca Rather, Bronwen Weber, and David Lebovitz. I have also cultivated some amazing friends and resources in the Central Texas area and would like to share my knowledge with all who care to join me. My most recent honor was winning Best Sweet at the Bacon Takedown during SXSW 2011. As the culinary icon Ms. Childs' says, "Bon Appetit!"
***CONTACT ME at christy111luv@yahoo.com or twitter @christy111luv***
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